Tony's new habit
by AlexJoSkyler
Summary: Gibbs oldest teenager Tony has developed a new habit while Gibbs has been working late. What will Tony do when his dad suddenly has time over to spend with him and his brother Tim? Will Tony be able to keep his new habit alive? and foremost will he be able to lie to his dad on a regular basis?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters featured in my stories or the shows they are from. I just loan them to use as characters in short stories written by me.

With that said, welcome to this story, and I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to give constructive feedback (especially on grammar and use of words since English isn`t my native language), anyway, Welcome!

Warning! A little swearing/bad words but nothing else.

(In this story Tony and Tim are Gibbs real teenage sons. Tony is 15 and Tim 13. Just as a little explanation I will try to include Abby and Kate/Ziva in a future story.)

Chapter 1-Tony`s new habit

"Shit!" Tony Gibbs exclaimed after a quick glance at his watch and dropped the tobacco on the ground out of surprise.

"Something wrong?" Rich asked meaningly, indicating that Tony wasn`t as cool as the rest of the gang since he tended to listen his dad in contrast to the rest of the gang. Tony shrugged his shoulders trying to appear calm and said:

"No just thought I saw somebody I recognized, look guys, I should probably start heading home, the football game I want to catch is on in an hour".

Two of Tony`s longtime friends took it as their clue to also excuse themselves. Knowing their parents also would be home soon and figuring they had had enough of fights for a few days at least. Sighing at the others teasing and smirking expressions Tony smashed his tobacco with his foot and headed home.

-chapter 1-

"I`m home!" Yelled Tony the second he, out of his breath from running the whole way home, came inside the house. His dad`s car wasn't yet parked in front of the house so he knew he had made it home in time, now the problem though was to make every sign of him smoking disappear before his dad made it home.

"Tony, what do you think you`ve been doing leaving me to cover for you again without as much as a warning". And then there was Tim. His younger brother glared angrily at him effectively blocking his way to the stairs.

"I`m sorry Tim, I`ll make it up to you okay, just help me get away this one time, please". He turned pleadingly to his younger brother and tried to actually look sorry.

"Okay" Tim sighed in defeat and moved out of the way. Tony tried to move past his brother quickly enough for Tim not to smell the smoke from Tony`s clothes, but stumbled on the pair of shoes he had thrown onto the stairs this morning. Tim had a great sense of smell and almost immediately caught the smell of smoke.

"What the hell".


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Tim and Tony and oh yeah, papa Gibbs

"What the hell". Tim`s voice raised and he looked stunned at his older brother. Tim rarely swore, but in this case Tony could have almost bet on him doing so. The non-smoking rule has been imprinted in to the boys since childhood and both knew the consequences of their father ever catching them doing so. At a top of it doing it behind their dad`s back was just asking to be grounded for the rest of his life. Tim shook his head, but did nothing to stop his brother from going upstairs to change clothes, deciding he didn't want to listen to a fight just yet.

While Tony went to shower and wash his hair, Tim set the table and cleaned up a bit in the kitchen and the entryway. It was mostly Tony`s mess but Tim figured his brother would have enough music to face without adding to it. Hearing his brother singing from the shower upstairs Tim sighing made his way upstairs to confront his brother.

Just coming out of the shower the last thing Tony expected was seeing his brother with arms crossed on the middle of his room.

"What do you think you are doing Tim? It`s my room so a little privacy would be grate"

"Are you smoking?". Tony was caught off guard and it took a second or so too long to answer the question, but Tim didn't seem to notice.

"Never occurred to you that I just could happen to be friends with somebody who smokes?".

"You know dad wouldn't approve of that anyway"

"Tim just leave me alone"

"So you aren't smoking?" Tim asked suspiciously.

"What did I just say little brother?".

"Okay for now, but if you are smoking though Tony, you better fix your breath before…"

"I`m home!". Their dad`s voice could be heard upstairs easily and the boys freezed at the spot instantly. When Gibbs`s jogging footsteps could be heard moving upstairs Tony suddenly got going. Qvickly he grabbed a package off breath mints from his jeans on the floor and swore when the package seemed to somehow have gotten glued together and headed straight to his closet. For Tim who had been eyeing his brother the realization that his brother at least had tried smoking dawned.

"Tim? What are you doing in Tony`s room?". Gibbs stood in the doorway and squeezed his eyebrows at his youngest. At that exact moment Tony reappeared in the room. "Hey dad".

"What are you two up to?" The last thing Gibbs needed right now was dealing with trouble, but something in his oldest tone of voice and his youngest mixed face expression rang an alarmbell in his head.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry guys for the short chapters, I have finals next week but still wanted to write it down. It looks totally different on the site than when I write it, so try to be patient, I promise longer chapters in the future!_

 _-AlexJoSkyler_

 **-Chapter 3-**

"Anthony and Timothy, answer me please". Tony and Tim both gulped at the same time. When their dad used their full names it was a pretty indicator that he wouldn't tolerate just any answer. Not that he ever did. Lying was in the book of Leroy Jethro Gibbs the worst offense possible. It was a strict rule both boys new not to break, and usually didn't, but Tony really wasn't fond of the idea to tell his dad about his newfound habit.

"Dad, you gotta stop using that whole investigator thing at home. We are teenagers, a part of it is discussing girls and potential girlfriends" Tony said, trying his best to sound hurt by the accusation.

"and friends" Tim said quickly trying to do his part of the covering up. After an angry look from Tony though he realized that he probably just had made it harder for his brother to make the cover story believable.

"Dad" Tony said trying to smooth over his brother's words, but stopped when his father leveled him with a glare. Tony sighed and tried to sound defeated. "Fine". He muttered. "I like the class nerd and asked Tim how to impress her with some math stuff or something, so there you go just make fun of me"

"Watch your tone Tony" Gibbs said warningly with a glare. "I`m not going to do any such thing which you know very well so stop throwing accusations at me"

"Sorry" Tony muttered and had a hard time keeping a triumphing smile of his face. 15 years of living with this man paid off in form of acting skills and a talent for making up believable excuses.

"The food will be ready in an hour, and Tony…"

"Yeah?"

"The best way to impress **me** is doing your homework, in which way I might consider letting you go somewhere this weekend"

-chapter 3-

"I guess I have memory loss since I don't recall hearing a; thanx for keeping quiet bro" Tim remarked at the supper table when Gibbs went to answer the door.

"Shut up Timothy, he might be able to hear you, you know". Tony leveled a perfect imitation of his father`s glare on Tim who as a response started squirming in his seat.

"It`s just…it`s my social life on the line too you know"

"Just keep quiet and it won't be a problem"

"Yeah like it's that easy" Tim muttered quietly.

At that moment Gibbs returned to the dining room with some letters and a newspaper in his hand.

"What`s that easy?" Gibbs wondered. Quietly scolding himself for sounding like a snooping parent who had nothing better to do. The thing was just that he had this gut feeling whenever one of his kids were lying to him. It wasn`t like Tony was a bad liar, on the opposite, but Gibbs trained eye had caught those small changes in Tony`s body language when he entered the room that usually indicated that his son was up to something. Before anyone could answer though the phone rang and Gibbs eyed his sons excusing, before putting the mail down on the table and heading out of the room to answer. It only took as long as Gibbs being out of site before Tony threw himself over the mail, desperately looking for something. Tim eyed him suspiciously before catching a glimpse of a letter with their school stamp on the front. Tony caught sight of it at the same time and snatched it before Tim could even move. His brother`s mess was so much bigger than Tim could have imagined only a few hours ago. Without hesitating Tony put it in his jeans pocket before turning to his younger brother with a pleading look on his face.

``Please don`t tell him Tim, he`d kill me if he knew".

"He`d ground you for a month yes, but really, how bad can it possibly be?". Tony guilty eyeing the surface of the table gave Tim his answer. Tim hated to lie to his father and knew that the longer he kept this lie alive, the longer it would take his father to trust him again and the thought of that made his stomach clench. There was nothing he hated more than the thought of losing his father`s trust, but he didn`t want to rat out Tony either in case it wasn't as bad as it seemed. He just hoped full heartedly that it wasn`t as bad as it seemed.

-chapter 3-

"Tony, do you got a minute?". Tony jumped in his chair, surprised by his father`s voice suddenly sounding in the otherwise silent room. Tim had gone early to bed, referring to a big quiz the following day so it was just Tony and Gibbs awake, but Tony had thought that his father still was working in the basement so he hadn`t been expecting any company.

"Geez dad you scared me, but yeah, sure" he answered trying to appear calm even though his heart was pounding in his chest and turned around on his chair so he was facing his father. He silently gulped when he saw his father`s worried face and the carefully searching gaze Gibbs leveled him with.

Gibbs on the other hand wondered where he had gone wrong. There was clearly something going on with the teen, something he didn`t want to talk about. A picture of something suddenly flashed before his eyes. It was clearly something he should have seen, something he should remember but couldn`t. The memory flash caught him off guard and when he shook it off he saw Tony staring at him with a smile playing on his lips.

"What do you think is so funny?" Gibbs teased fondly and took the few steps to his teen where he ruffled Tony`s hair, or as Tony yelled 10 seconds later "destroyed his hair forever". Tony didn't move away though, on the opposite he slightly leaned against his father and just muttered something now and then to make it look like he actually cared about his hair getting messed up even though both new he secretly liked when his father did so.

"I`ll be at home now for a few days". Gibbs broke the silence after a few moments of quietness.

"why?" It came out a lot harder than he had intended and Tony immediately wished he could take back his words when he saw his father grimace at the comment.

"Good to know you like having me around son" Gibbs said and smiled slightly knowing fully well that the kid hadn`t meant for it to sound the way it did.

"Dad I`m sorry, I didn`t mean…"

"I know you didn't Tony" Gibbs said and looked the teen right in the eye. "Just think a little longer next time, okay? It won`t always be someone who knows you well enough to know if you mean it or not"

"I know, I will" Tony promised and paused a moment before he continued: "How come you`ll be home, I know you have a lot of work to do. Dad really if I`ve done something wrong around here just tell me and I`ll do it better. You don't have to babysit us. I`m fifteen now and Tim is thirteen, we can handle it". Gibbs looked fondly at his son and sat down on the bed next to him before giving him a side hug. "You`ve done nothing wrong Tony. My team has just had too many cases lately so everybody, including me, needed a few days off and the director agreed so the whole team is off until next week. Being able to see you guys more is just a perfect bonus". With that Gibbs raised to standing before leaning down and placing a paternal kiss on the top of Tony`s head, totally forgetting why he came to talk to the team in the first place.


	4. Chapter 4

Tony stared at the letter in his hands. It had kept him awake almost all night along with his father`s words and the guilt he felt. When Gibbs at the breakfast had asked him with a low voice if he was okay, he nearly broke and told him the truth, but in the last second he did the opposite: flashed his dad a mega-watt smile and ensured him he was okay, just tired. He wasn`t sure if his father had bought it full heartedly, but at least he had let him go to school after checking him for fever and leveling him with one last careful gaze telling Tony to call him if he started to not feel well. Tony had flashed him another big smile and headed out through the door, not giving his dad a chance to change his mind. Tony sighed and glanced down at the letter once more barely aware of his brother walking by in the hallway. His brother…Tony`s head finaly caught up with the reality and yelled:

"Hey Tim wait up!" Tim turned around not sure he had heard correctly since the two of them almost never crossed paths at school. It wasn't like Tony wasn't there for him if he needed him or that he wasn't ready to jump in and defend Tim if it would prove necessarily. On the opposite. Tim new Tony looked after him, not only because their father expected him to, but because he felt the need to make sure that nobody hurt his baby brother.

"I need you to do me a favor" Tony said when he caught up with him and they kept walking down the hallway.

"Tony, I`m…" Tim started saying when Tony cut him off.

"I need you to call grandpa Franks for me"

"What are you going to do?" Tim asked suspiciously.

"I can`t do this anymore Tim, I have to tell dad the truth, but I can`t bring myself to do it. I don`t like smoking, I never did. I just did it. Please Tim, I need your help with this". Tim stood chocked and glared at his brother with open mouth. "So will you help me?" Tony asked carefully.

Tim nodded silently and saw his brother relax a bit.

"Could you call grandpa Franks and tattle on me?"

"What?" Tim`s voice raised with each syllable and people in the hallway turned around and stared. "Are you crazy?" Tim continued. "He`ll kill us both"

"No he won`t" Tony responded much calmer than Tim. "Please Timmy, just do it"

"But why? Why do you wan`t me to rat on you? Can`t you just quit?"

"I wished little brother, but even if I did I still would feel bad for not telling dad" Tim still didn`t look convinced it was the only way so Tony sighed and continued: "It`s a long story and when all of this is over I`ll tell you, I promise"

"Are you sure about this Tony?"

"Yeah just do it before I change my mind" Tim nodded. "Thank you, Tony said and gave his brother a quick hug. "Don`t worry bro, just tell grandpa Franks you think I`m smoking, but aren`t sure. That way he`ll come here and check it out. Then all you have to do is show him to the north gate and let him catch me. Look it`s the perfect plan, Grandpa Franks will calm dad down, you won`t get in trouble and I`ll have an excuse not to smoke anymore and a clean conscience". Tim had to agree the plan sounded awfully waterproof to be his brother`s creation. "You`ll do great Tim, don`t worry".


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N_

 _Sorry that I haven`t posted a new chapter in a while, I`ve been put sick and my last test is next Friday. I have the rest of the story thought out though, it`s just this chapter I`ve been battling with, not sure how to put it, but I tried, and this is how it turned out, hope you like it._

 _-Alex Jo Skyler_

Tim wished he could take Tony`s word on that when he only a few moments later dialed grandpa Franks's number.

"Franks". Wow he sounded even grumpier than usual, Tim thought as he listened to his grandpa`s voice.

"Grandpa…It`s Tim". He swallowed nervously knowing that there wasn`t a way to turn back now. If he did his grandpa would find out. He had been the one who taught Gibbs everything for a reason.

"Tim? What has that brother of yours done now?". Tim took a few second too long to figure out how he would tell his grandpa and Mike noticed that.

"No good I hear" He said impatiently, secretly wondering just how bad his grandson had messed up. The kid was really a mini Leroy Jethro Gibbs at times. And not in a good way. "I`ll be down in 20 minutes. You tell your brother he`ll answer to me if he moves an inch"

"He isn`t here, I mean…he`s in school of course but he isn`t…" Tim grimaced knowing exactly how grandpa would take the news. Tim heard a sudden "click" in his ear. Yeah, just like his dad would have done.

-Chapter 5-

"You okay kid?". Mike grabbed Tim`s shoulders and leveled him with a searching gaze.

"yeah, gramps, I`m fine We are all…" Tim started saying, but then he thought back on yesterday evening. He had gone to the bathroom he shared with his brother and found it as usual messy. Covering for Tony had teared on his nerves so he had gone to yell at him and had found his brother curled up in a ball, hugging his legs to his chest in a dark room. Tony hadn`t seen or heard him so Tim had decided to ignore it, but it had been hard when he saw how Tony looked at breakfast with dark circles under his eyes and the guilt clear on his face whenever their father turned away for a second. Tony`s conscious had gotten the best of him.

"Tim!" Tim looked up at his grandpa startled. He had been totally lost in his thoughts.

"I think…" Tim hesitated a second before once again seeing Tony before him. He had to do this. " I think he has started smoking".

"Are you sure of what you are doing here Tim?"

"Yeah I`m sure" Tim met his grandpa`s eyes directly. Mike was taken aback by the sincerity in his grandson`s words. Something wasn`t adding up here.

"Something you want to tell me Tim?" Tim tired of the lies decided to come totally clean to his grandpa.

"He came home after a few days ago and smelled tobacco smoke so I confronted him. He confessed."

"With other words you know for sure" Franks grunted out. "And you didn't tell your father" Mike got his guess confirmed with the silent bobbing up and down of the head by the youngest of the Gibbs family. Franks sighed. "You didn't want to tell on your brother" he stated. Another silent nod. "So why now?"

"He doesn't want you to know…but he asked me to" Franks looked shocked at his youngest grandson. Had his oldest grandson somehow comed to his senses as he got older? Faster than his hotheaded father in that case, he thought for himself. "I`m glad you told me son" he grunted out a little kinder than usual. Tim still looked like a lost puppy so Mike sighed and eyed the empty hallway a second before dragging Tim into a hug. Tim rested his head against his grandfather`s chest. It had been a while since he`d gotten a hug and a part of him had missed the feeling of somebody taking all the weight from his shoulders for a short moment. Both his grandfathers and his dad had been busy the last month, his father coming home when both boys already had gone to bed. His father always kissed him and Tony on the forehead when he said goodnight but Tim had really missed his father the last month. Mike felt the kid lean into him and suddenly realized it`d been a while since he held his grandsons in his arms. That was something he planned to change. After a few minutes though Mike loosened the grip and Tim pulled out of the embrace much calmer than before.

"Did your brother have any ideas to where I could find him too?"

"The North gate, He said that's where they hang out" Mike nodded thoughtfully.

"Mind showing your old grandpa the way?"

-chapter 5-

Mike stood in the shadows at the North Gate waiting for his grandson to appear. There. Shortly after the bell had rung a group of teenagers came in sight. They looked carefully around making sure nobody was in sight before sneaking out of sight from the school building. Mike grunted disappointingly when he saw Tony`s familiar face in the crowd. He waited until Tony lighted the tobacco in his hind before stepping out in full sight.

"Nice to know my grandson has more brain than that" he said. Most of the teenagers turned around on the spot and started running. 3 of them though stared at him for a few second before their legs started working. Even Tony was about to start running when Mike put a firm hand on his shoulder holding him back. He sighed when he caught a pretty good glimpse of the 2 others who had sacked after. It was two of Tony`s longtime friends. No wonder the kid was in over his head he thought. When the others were out of his sight he turned his grandson to look at him and took in the sight. He didn't look much better than he had done that morning. The skin pale and dark circles under his eyes. Even the hair was messy. The kid simply looked extremely tired. And now extremely guilty as he faced his grandfather.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony watched his grandpa from the corner of his eye. Mike hadn`t said a word to the kid, just silently walked him back into the school to tell office the kid would take the rest of the day off. He had had to use his ID and badge for them to let him take Tony with him, even insisting to call Gibbs and check with him before turning Tony over to his grandpa. As soon as Gibbs had given his permission Mike had gently dragged his grandson to the car where they now sat. Mike watched the boy glance at him. You really are Probie Junior he thought, you can't do anything the easy way.

-Tony`s new habit-

Gibbs had jogged up the stairs the second he heard the door open. He was calm, but he needed to see for himself that his son was okay. When reaching the kitchen where Mike and Tony had flung down at the kitchen table, Gibbs took in the sight of his oldest son. The tense figure and the fact that the boy for once let his father read him like an open book made Gibbs change his approach from what he originally had planned. Instead of sitting down across the table from where his son sat he took the few steps to his son, who seemed to debate with himself whether or not to look at his father, ruffled his hair fondly and leaned down to kiss the top of his head before taking a seat next to his son.

"Tony, look at me" he said gently but to Tony it was no question that it was an order. Tony did so instantly and without hesitation. "Are you okay son?". Tony nodded and broke eye contact with his father, the guilty feeling too much for him. "Good". Gibbs reached out his hand and tapped Tony gently under his chin to get the boy to meet his gaze. Tony did so, clearly not sure what this was all about. Normally his father would have lectured him and sent him up to his room to spend the evening there. Then at night his father would check in on him and make sure he understood Gibbs's reasoning as well as offer his son a hug and to tuck him in. "Tony, I have no idea what you are going to tell me, but whatever it is we`ll get through. Okay son?" Gibbs said honestly. Tony nodded once more. Gibbs seeing the guilt practically radiating from the boy got up and gave his son a one arm hug, bending close to his son`s ear murmuring: "Love you son, you know I always have your best interest in mind". Tony looked up at his dad and said just as low "I know dad, love you too".

Tony watched his dad take a seat on the opposite side of the table. He didn't have to be told to start speaking. His dad had gone back to his stern self.

"A few weeks ago some friends of mine invited me to hung with them one recess. I said yes and joined them at the north gate. We talked about sports and then suddenly one of them picked up a tobacco from his pocket. The others took it as their clue and as they lighted they tobaccos I got offered one. At first I said no, then…then I took it and before I knew it I was in over my head. I'm sorry I disappointed you dad" Tony said looking his father directly in the eyes.

"What happened then?" Gibbs asked his voice totally calm and his facial expression neutral. After so many years of interrogation it came as a force of habit.

"I got a letter sent home, when one of the teachers caught us. Or actually just me, since somebody taught me to respect the grownups." That was said with a pointed look at his father and Gibbs smiled invardly. Tony being Tony made his heart lighten a little. She took pity on me since I had chosen to stay and decided that sending you a letter instead of trying to reach you at work or telling the principal what had happened. When I saw the letter in the mail I took it. I panicked." When Tony didn't seem to know how to continue Gibbs asked:

"Where does your grandpa come into the story?"

"He caught me smoking "Tony answered simply, ignoring the glare from his grandpa who knew from Tim`s story it wasn't the whole truth. But the truth was Tony felt awful, he had lied to his dad for several weeks, no way he wanted his dad to be proud of him right now, not for any reason. Those words would mean nothing to him right now. Caught up in his thoughts Tony missed the glances Mike and Gibbs shared. He was so into his thoughts that he almost missed his grandfather say:

"Why don't you go get your father the letter". Tony glared at his grandpa, knowing from the second his grandpa caught him Tim had spilled the whole story, now daring Mike to say anything to Gibbs about it. His father raised an eyebrow though at the silent conversation and nodded his head towards the upstairs with a look at Tony. Tony scowled but got up and made it towards the staircase.

"Tony, why don't you wait for me upstairs. I`ll be up in a few minutes. Just need some coffee". Tony who had stopped in his tracks nodded and continued to jog up the staircase leading upstairs to the bedrooms.

 **A/N Sorry that it took so much time, I made an effort to make the characters a little more believable and that takes time. Also I originally planned for this to turn out differently so it took some time to rewrite it.**


	7. Chapter 7

"I have a feeling there is something that kid doesn`t want me to know, and I bet you know what it is Mike" Gibbs said when they heard Tony`s door slam shut upstairs. Gibbs took another sip of coffee and looked at his former boss.

"That kid is too much like you for his own good Probie" Frank muttered. "Here he does something good and doesn't want you to find out.

"Okay now I'm certain it's something only the two of you know. And one of you is gonna have to tell me. Tony is upstairs which makes it you."

"I got an interesting phone call this morning… Tony wanted me to catch him. Why he didn't tell you that when he owned up to everything else I have no idea, but he is the only reason you know about his new habit. And I don't know about you Probie, but I am proud of my grandson for doing that:"

"Don't you think I am proud of him too Mike? He is my son. I love him and he damn well knows I would be proud of him for owning up, even if he came to you first."

"I don't like doing this, but you should know that Tony wasn't the one telling me, he actually didn't say a word. He made Tim do all the talking." Gibbs sighed. Of course Tony couldn't do it the easy way. Mike was right, the kid was just like him.

"You are welcome to stay for dinner and pick up my other son from the Mallards where I assume you sent him". Gibbs said while heading out of the kitchen and upstairs.

-Tony`s new habit-

Gibbs stood in the doorway and watched his son who lay on his bed and threw a basketball up and down. With his mind somewhere else he had up till now failed to notice his father.

"Dad". Gibbs who had been just as lost in his thoughts shook his head to get back to reality. Tony had sat up on the bed and was now facing is father. The damn kid wasn't even nervous, Tony just sat there ready for whatever lecture his father had planned. Gibbs sighed at the thought before concentrating back on his son. "Here". He gave his dad the letter and Gibbs took a seat at Tony`s desk chair which he dragged to the bed so he sat across from his son. "For what its worth I am sorry". That was all Tony said before once again dropping his gaze. Just because he knew he deserved whatever punishment his father was gonna give him he still was too guilt ridden to look at Gibbs for more than a few seconds at a time. Tony watched quietly as his dad read the letter with a never changing neutral expression.

"Why did you take the tobacco in the first place?"

"I truly don't know, kinda wish I never did it though"

"These guys who invited you to hang with them, did you know them?"

"It doesn't really matter dad. What matters is what I did, not what anybody else did. I know better than to do it in the first place."

"I agree. You do know better, but that wasn't the question Tony."

Tony wanted to ask his dad his reasoning but knew his dad would never give up his cause for asking without him answering the question first.

"Anthony Leroy" Gibbs said warningly.

"I knew some of them, actually most of them" Suddenly he understood the reason for the question. His dad wondered whether his friends had turned bad (which wasn't really an option since he mostly hanged around kids his dad approved) or if he had agreed to meet up with some kids he barely knew. Tony might be 15 and a well-trained basketball star raised by an NCIS agent, but he still couldn't fight all battles alone. There were bad kids out there and the north gate was almost out of sight from the main building. "Dad don't even think about it, I am smarter than that. I would never agree to meet somebody I know nothing about at the north gate."

"Good" Gibbs simply stated. "Now, how did your grandpa know where to find you?"

"Wouldn't that be a better question for gramps?"

Gibbs simply glared at him. Tony sighed, he knew when the game was over.

"I asked Tim to call him. You were going to be home more and I could barely be around you for ten minutes without feeling sick from the lying so I took my chances with gramps. Thought he better be around to pick up the pieces when you realized how much of a disappointment I am". The last part was barely a whisper and Tony honestly didn't think his father could possibly have heard it. That Gibbs actually had came clear though when Gibbs one millisecond later made his way to his boy and gently grabbed his chin in his hand to force Tony to look at him.

"You are not a disappointment Anthony Leroy Gibbs and will never be. Your actions may not always be the best but you will never be a disappointment. I love you and I am proud of you every single day son. You are a fine man. Understood?"

"Yes sir". Tony could see the honesty written all over his dad and the reassurance felt kinda great even If he hadn't asked for it. Tony would never question his dads love for him or Tim, it was just the lack of disappointment he couldn't get his head around.

"Why didn't you tell me about this down in the kitchen?" Gibbs still didn't let go of his chin, he needed an answer. An honest one.

"I didn't want you to be proud of me right now, not for any reason, not after me lying for weeks to the person I look up to most in the whole world. It wouldn't have felt right"

"So why did you lie to me for weeks?"

"No smoking is one of your rules. Didn't seem like I had a choice."

"There`s always a choice."

"Yeah, I guess there is."

"Now that we cleared that…you did good son, owning up like you did. There is no shame in you going to your grandfather instead of me, I did that too a few times in my days."

"You did?"

"You are not the first kid ever to test his father Tony and the point is that you owned up for what you did. You did the right thing so get that into that stubborn head of yours." Gibbs finally let loose of his son`s chin and Tony turned his gaze down to the floor. Gibbs let him gather his thoughts for a minute before continuing:

"How did you put Tim into this"

Tony looked up at his father with a mega-watt smile.

"Charm and threat works great together"

Gibbs glared at him even though he inwardly thanked his lucky star for his boys and smiled at the fact that Tony finally had seemed to realize that even though he broke a couple of rules he did good too.

"Okay, okay, I pleaded, way to kick a man who is already down Dad"

"Tony" Gibbs said warningly

"He didn't have a choice dad"

"You both lied to me Tony"

"You didn't ask so technically he didn't lie".

"Smartass. You know the rules, a lie is a lie. You both are grounded two weeks for that. You should never have asked your brother to cover for you. Smoking is bad for your health which you should know by now, which makes it a matter of your health which you both know is one of the things I absolutely not tolerate either of you lying to me about. No before I make it final do you have anything other to say?"

"I`ve been home late due to the detention I got from being caught smoking and made Tim cover for me." If he once told his father everything else, he might as well tell that too.

"Two more weeks. That makes a month for the lying. You are grounded for another month for breaking the non-smoking rule and I think it would be good for you to visit Ducky and re-learn what smoking does to you. Got it?"

"Ducky?! Dad, please, he`ll kill me when he finds out". Gibbs glare said more than a thousand words. Tony sighed defeated and said:

"Yes sir, I got it".

"Okay then, two months in total and you`ll spend the night in your room." Tony nodded and leaned back to rest against the headboard while his dad put the chair back and exited his room. Tony seemed okay so the stern parent Gibbs normally was was back.

-Tony`s new habit-

TBC

A/N: Sorry had no inspiration to write this earlier, but I finally sat down and did it so hope you like it. I will continue the story as soon as I have time


	8. Chapter 8

"Tony?"

"Yeah?" Tony answered without turning around.

"Don't do this son" Gibbs said, coming into his son's bedroom and closing the door behind him. Tony didn't answer so Gibbs gently took a hold of his 15-years old son's shoulder and turned him around to face him.

"Look at me son". Tony slowly looked up and met his gaze.

"You are fifteen, you make mistakes, you pay for them, you move on. WE move on. It`s okay Tony"

"How can you trust me? I lied to you for weeks and you still act like..."

"Like what?"

"Like I just got a bad grade or something" Gibbs sighed and covered his face with his hand for a moment before speaking.

"I have always trusted you Tony, and I always will. The trust is still here, hell if it weren't I'd lock you up in this house the rest of your life. That trust is still here, it's more weak now, and I'll be keeping a close eye on you for some time. But the trust is still here."

"How?"

"You came forward"

The answer was simple, but true. Sure he'd keep an extra eye on his boy until the trust was as strong as it used to be, but he still trusted him.

"What about Tim?"

"What about him?"

"I should have set a better example for him"

"You really want me to yell at you Tony? Or do you think you should have a harder punishment?. Cause that can be fixed, I assure you that." Gibbs let the words sink in before continuing. "You just shout out a syllable, or...you climb into that bed and take the punishment I gave you"

Tony only hesitated for a second, before climbing into his bed and letting his dad tuck him in like when he was younger. When he was done Gibbs climbed onto the bed himself and sat propped against the headboard. Tony moved so his head was in his father`s lap and Gibbs fondly ran a calming hand up and down Tony`s arm.

"Dad?" Tony said and looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks"

"Oh don't thank me yet. I am sure I can find plenty of things for you to do during your grounding since you the last time complained about being bored"

"Love you too dad" Tony smiled and drifted of to sleep. When Gibbs was sure his oldest was sound asleep he carefully moved Tony's head to the pillow and moved off the bed. Smiling down at his oldest he gently righted the covers and leaned down, kissing his sons forehead ligthly before whispering:

"Love you son. No matter what you do."


	9. chapter 9 (11-10 03:40:22)

Gibbs had meant to go downstairs and make a cup of coffee before talking to his youngest but stopping at Tim's almost totally closed door he couldn't help but gently push the door open a bit more and peek in. Seeing his youngest sitting slumped over his desk doing homework without the normal happiness made him rethink his choice. He could drink coffee later, right now Tim needed him to put down the cards on the table.

"May I come in?" Tim startled at his father´s voice jumped up from the chair. Seeing who it was though he sat back down and silently nodded his consent. Not that it really mattered, but still. Watching his dad sit down at his bed eyeing him for the longest time Tim started squirming uneasily.

"Why didn't you come to me when you found out" His dad's voice dripped of disappointment and even a bit hurt and Tim swallowed hard before answering:

"Tony pleaded and I caved in. I know I shouldn't have, but things kind of turned out that way. You interrupted our conversation and I suddenly got nervous. It was meant to be a one-time thing. I really thought Tony would quit"

"What made you turn to your grandpa?"

"Tony asked me to snitch, he couldn't bring himself to it and I saw how much he was beating himself up over it so I went along with it"

"Was Tony picking up the habit of smoking something concerning his health?"

"Yes sir "Tim looked down at his knees he knew what his dad was coming to.

"With other words you broke the number one rule in this house Tim. To never lie about your or Tony´s health"

"Yes sir "His answer was barely a whisper.

"Let me ask you this Tim, what if he wouldn't have quit? How long would you have lived lying to me?"

"I don't know. I truly don't dad, I'm sorry. I just tried to stand by him this once and I didn't think. I'm sorry"

"All is forgiven kid. Two weeks of grounding is the only thing that remains"

"That's all?" Tim asked in disbelief.

"Unless you want more"

"No sir. It's just a major rule like this?!"

"I think that you've already learnt your lesson Tim, a far greater one than I can teach you with a grounding. So as long as you complete your grounding this is forgotten and forgiven and I hope we never have to revisit this conversation again?!"

"No sir"

"Good boy, now why don't you finish of that homework and then head of to bed, I'll be up in a bit to say god night"

"Yes dad" Gibbs seeing the kid's longing look opened his arms invitingly.

"Oh, come on, give your dad a hug first" The kid happily melted into his dad's strong arms and held on tight letting go of all the bottled-up emotions from the last few days. Gibbs on the other hand felt his sons tight hold of him and started thinking back on when he last had hugged the kid. Deeming that it had been too long he decided to start doing it whenever he had a chance.

-Tony's new habit-

"Sorry for dragging you into this Tim "Tony had seemingly appeared from nowhere and stood now ready for school in the doorway to his little brother's room.

"I should be the one apologizing Tony, I should have told on you"

"That is not how this works, and you know it. I'm your big brother I should know better, besides Timothy-the snitch-Gibbs, you are never supposed to tell on me, but thankyou"

"Hey I'm no snitch!"

"Sorry. Timmy-the kid, that better?"

"You are never gonna stop, are you?!"

"Noup" Tony smirked, before turning serious again. "Seriously though, thankyou kid for being there when I needed you"

"That's what brothers do Tony"

"Yeah, I guess, anyway…you are an amazing one Tim, never forget that" He saw his kid brother shine up at that and couldn't help but smile a little himself.

"Thanx Tony, you aren't that bad yourself"

"Keep that thought until we get to the car because I am riding shotgun!" With that Tony turned around and started running down the stairs. He heard Tim shout behind him, but didn't slow down. He had said what he needed to say without embarrassing himself too much. He loved his little brother but would never say that to Tim's face. Maybe he would get the point if Tony slowed down just a little bit letting the kid get past him and ride shotgun for once. Smirking Tony thought, yeah that should do it, and slowed down his steps letting Tim run past him and secure the passenger seat inches before him. When Tim turned back to him with a huge smile on his face Tony was happy to have done it after all that he put the kid through. Shaking his head to clear it from those thoughts he watched his dad's surprised face and raising eyebrow at the sight of his youngest having bet his oldest to the passenger seat before the look turned into one of realization and then pride. Tony beamed at the unexpected praise, his mile growing even wider when his dad squeezed his shoulder tightly a few seconds when passing him. Yeah, letting Tim win had totally been worth it.

 **A/N: Thankyou for reading! I think I am going to end this story here and call it complete. I am not necessarily abandoning the whole story concept and idea, but I think I have written everything that was meant to go under this title. If you have any ideas for future stories though, or just like the idea of the same setting with teenage Tim and Tony and Gibbs, leave me a comment or a pm and I'll try to think of something. Or if you really want to I might be able to continue with this story. Anyway, thankyou so much for reading and following and favoring this story, it means the world to me!**


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